Automatic cotton bale transfer apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for automatically transferring cotton bales from an unbanding station to a press and rebanding station.

United States Patent [1 1 3,673,950

Koehler et al. July 4, 1972 [54] AUTOMATIC COTTON BALE TRANSFERAPPARATUS [56] References Cited [72] Inventors: Albert T. Koehler,Monticello; Paul J. UNITED STATES PATENTS Shideler, Logansport, both of1nd.; Linus EDohogne paragould,Ark 3,541,948 11/1970 Sauer ..100/33,294,013 12/1966 Seltzer ....100/207X [73] Assignee: A. J. Gerrard 81Company, De Pl i 3,459,119 8/1969 Wiklund ..l00/7 111. 2,812,708 11/1957Tillinghastm .....100/3 2,728,287 12/1955 Tillinghast... .....10o/3 xFlledr c- 24, 1969 1,071,811 9/1913 Sheppard ..100/207 1. [211 App No887963 PrimaryExaminer-Billy].Wilhite Attorney-Johnson, Dienner, Emrich,Vcrbeck & Wagner [52] U.S.Cl ..l00/7, 100/3, 100/100,

100 137, 100/207, 100/218, 100/233, 100/264, ABSTRACT l00/269 loo/295*214/] BB An apparatus for automatically transferring cotton bales froman unbanding Station to a press and rebanding Station 1e 0 earc 100/7,100, 137, 207, 218, 233, 264, 269, 295 8 Claims, 13 Drawing FiguresPATENTEnJuL 4 m2 SHEET 5 OF 8 [EEIDI [III WWN

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EXTRA C T01? FRA ME MOTOR AUTOMATIC CO'I'ION BALE TRANSFER APPARATUS Toprepare cotton bales for shipping, it is a common practice in the cottonindustry to rebale the cotton into a smaller dimensioned compressed baleso that more bales can be transported with a given amount of cargospace.

The first step in the rebaling process is to compress the cottonsufiiciently to remove the bands around the bales. The unbanded cottonbale is then moved into a large press where it is further compressed toa smaller height dimension and then rebanded.

In the present state of the art, the handling of the cotton bales duringthe rebaling process is performed manually, requiring a large amount ofmanpower. Due to the rising cost of labor and the general shortage ofmanpower in the cotton industry, there is a great need to automate thehandling of the cotton during the rebaling process.

In the present state of the art it is necessary to use some sort oftemporary fasteners on each bale prior to removing its bands, otherwisethe cotton would expand uncontrollably before it could be transferredinto the large press at the press and rebanding station. These temporaryfasteners are then removed once the cotton bale is placed in the press.The installation and removal of these temporary fastener devices requireemployment of several workers.

Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide an apparatus forautomatically transferring a cotton bale from the unbanding station tothe press and rebanding station.

A further object of this invention is to provide an apparatus fortransferring a cotton bale from the unbanding station to the press andrebanding station in a shorter time period than heretofore has beenpossible.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus fortransferring a cotton bale from the unbanding station to the press andrebanding station, which apparatus holds the bale in compressionthroughout the transferring process so as to prevent any loss of cottonfrom the bale.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent as the following specification proceeds and the featuresofnovelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out withparticularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of thespecification.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may behad to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top elevational view of the preferred embodiment of myinvention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the cotton bale carriage assemblydepicted in FIG. 2 as shown in the loaded position at the unbandingstation; l

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the press unit carried by thecarriage assembly of FIG. 3 as shown with the upper and lower forkmembers in the open position;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4 andlooking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view illustrating the chain drive assembly whichtransports the cotton bale carriage assembly from the unbanding stationto the press and rebanding station;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 6 andlooking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 8 is an end view of the left hand of the chain drive assembly shownin FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line 9-9 of FIG. 6; 3

FIG. 10 is an enlarged partial view of the carriage assembly of FIG. 3showing the cotton bale being ejected from the press unit of FIG. 4.

FIG. 11 is a top elevational view of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of the electrical control circuits forthe preferred embodiment of this invention; and

FIG. 13 is a hydraulic schematic diagram of the hydraulic controls ofthe preferred embodiment of this invention.

There is shown in FIG. 1, an automatic cotton bale transfer apparatusembodying the principles of this invention and generally designated bythe reference numeral 10. In the cotton bale transfer apparatus 10, asmall press unit 12 operates to compress a bale of cotton disposedbetween its upper and lower fork members 14 and 16 at a loading station18 to permit the removal of its bands B. After the bands B are removed,the operator, as will be explained in full detail hereinafter, presses astart button which initiates the automatic transfer of the cotton bale Cto a press and rebanding station 13 at the left end of the FIG. 1.

Briefly, the sequence of operations of cotton bale transfer apparatus 10is as follows: The press unit 12 is rotated clockwise with respect tocarrier frame 19 of the carriage assembly 20. The carriage assembly 20is then driven to the left as viewed in FIG. 1 until press unit 12reaches the press and rebanding station 13 (dotted position of FIG. 2The extractor assembly 22, which is carried by the press unit 12, isthen energized simultaneously with the opening of fork members 14, 16 topush the cotton bale C into the center of the press P. Upon completionof this operation, the carriage assembly 20 automatically returns to itsoriginal starting position and the press unit 12 is rotated 90counterclockwise on carrier frame 19 where another cotton bale C iswaiting. The cycle is completed when the upper and lower forks l4 and 16are driven into compressing engagement with the second cotton bale C.

After the operator has removed the bands B from the second cotton baleC, he presses the start button and the cotton bale transfer apparatus 10automatically repeats the operations described above.

Referring to FIG. 3, the upper and lower fork member l4, 16 arepivotally mounted to a vertical frame member 30, which is rigidlysupported on the forward end of a horizontal turntable 36 of carriageassembly 20. The vertical frame member 30 consists of two vertical legs31 and 33 (FIG. 4) which have their lower ends fastened, as by welding,to two horizontal extensions 15 and 17 (FIG. 4), respectively, thatextend beyond the forward end 19 of turntable 36. The legs 31, 33 areheld in a parallel, spaced apart relationship by two horizontalcross-bars 21, 23. To rigidly support the frame member 30, two anglebraces 38 and 40 are secured, as by welding, between e turntable 36 andtwo horizontal segments 35 and 37, respectively, which are securedpreferably by welding, to vertical legs 31 and 33.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 4, 10 and 11, it can be seen that the upper andlower fork members 14 and 16 have substantially identical constructions.The upper fork 14 has two arm portions 26 and 28 which are pivotallymounted at their midsection, respectively, to two spacer members 27 and29 that are fastened by welding to the upper ends of vertical legs 31and 33 of frame member 30. A cylindrical rod 40 interconnects theforward end of the arm portions 26 and 28. The rod 40 carries an uppercotton bale engaging unit 42 which consists of a plurality of pressureblades 44 which are mounted on rod 40 in an equal space relationship.The pressure blades 44 are capable of limited pivotal motion about rod40 to permit them to conform to irregular contours of a cotton bale C.

The lower fork member 16 similarly has two arm members 46 and 48 whichare pivotally mounted at 50 and 52, respectively, at their mid-sectionon the horizontal extensions 15, 17 of turntable 36. As best seen inFIG. 4, the forward end of the arm members 46 and 48 are interconnectedby a rod 54 which carries a plurality of spaced apart pressure blades 56to provide a lower cotton bale engaging assembly 58. The pressure blades56 are capable of having a limited pivotal movement to conform to theirregular contour of the cotton bale C.

To open and close the upper and lower fork members 14 and 16 in unison,the rearward end of the pair of arm members 26, 28 are pivotallyinterconnected, respectively, to the pair of arm members 46, 48 of lowerfork member 16 by means of a pair of hydraulic cylinder and piston units60 and 62, respectively. As can be appreciated by referring to FIG. 3,when the hydraulic cylinder and piston units 60, 62 are simultaneouslyactuated to expand the respective 3" ,ton rods 64 and 65 outwardly, theupper and lower cotton bale engaging assemblies 42 and 58 are drawntowards each other to compress the cotton bale C disposed therebetween.As is clear from referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the pressure blades 44 ofthe upper fork member 14 and the pressure blades 56 of the lower forkmember 16 are spaced apart to engage the upper and lower ends of thecotton bale C in an alternate relationship with the bands B to permitthe ready removal of the bands B. Preferably, the upper and lower forkmembers 14, 16 should compress the cotton bale about inches to enablethe bands B to be easily removed.

After the bands B have been completely removed from the cotton bale C,the operator presses the start button 70 located on a floor-mountedvertical post 71 (FIG. 2) at the loading station 18, which immediatelyenergizes the turret assembly 72 to turn the turntable 36 and associatedpress unit 12 90 clockwise, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The turretassembly 72 (FIG. 11) uses a'worm 76 coupled to the output shaft of ahydraulic motor 78 to drive the turntable 36 about a spur gear 80 whichis mounted in a non-rotatable relationship with carrier frame 74. Thus,the hydraulic motor 78 and worm 76 turn about gear 72 to rotateturntable 36.

To support the turntable 36, a plurality of ball transfer elements 82are mounted in a circular path to the underside of the turntable 36,preferably spaced apart about Because most of the weight is carried atthe front end of the turntable 36, a swivel wheel unit 84 is mounted atthe forward end of the turntable 36 approximately at the mid-centeracross the width of the turntable 36. A narrow track 86 (FIG. 1) isprovided to support the swivel wheel unit 84 throughout the travel ofthe carriage assembly 20.

The carriage assembly is carried by a set of wheels 90, 92. Referring toFIG. 3, the wheels 90 mounted the left side of carrier frame 74 ofcarriage assembly 20 have a flat peripheral surface which rides alongthe straight flat surface rail 94. The wheels 92 on the right side ofthe carrier frame 74 have a V- groove peripheral surface which followsthe V-shaped rail 96 to guide the carriage assembly 20 in a straightpath. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the preferred embodiment employs a pairof wheels 90, 92 at each comer of the carriage frame 74. It is to beunderstood that one wheel at each location would serve the samefunction. To permit the swinging of swivel wheel assembly 84 about thecarrier frame 74, the forward pair of wheels 90 is set back somewhat asillustrated in FIG. 1, as compared with the corresponding forward pairof wheels 92.

When the turret drive assembly 72 has rotated the press unit 12 througha 90 angle and moved the press unit 12 from the bale loading orientationto the bale unloading orientation, the turntable 36 (FIG. 1) actuateselectrical switch 85 to energize the chain drive assembly 97 (FIG. 6)which moves the carriage assembly 20 in the forward direction to thepress and rebanding station 13 (represented by the dotted lines in FIGS.1 and 2). As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 6, the chain drive assembly 87consists of a chain drive unit 88 extending between and parallel to therails 94, 96 and a hydraulic motor 89 which drives the chain drivesprocket 90 by means of the cooperation between a worm 91 mounted on theoutput shaft of the hydraulic motor 89 and worm gear 92.

Referring to FIG. 7, there is shown the structural relationship betweenworrn 91, worm gear 92 and chain drive sprocket 90, all of which aremounted on a rectangular plate 93. The worm gear 92 and chain drivesprocket 90 are rotatably mounted on shaft 94. A plurality of studs 95interconnect chain drive sprocket 90 and worm gear 92 so that chaindrive sprocket 90 will rotate with worm gear 92 to drive chain 102.

At the left hand end of the chain unit 88 is a idler sprocket 97 whichis adjustably mounted on a pedestal 98 (FIG. 8) and may be shiftedtoward or away from drive sprocket 90 by means of an adjustable screwdevice 100 to make the chain 102 taut. It is necessary that the chain102 be made substantially taut since the chain unit 88 is driven in twodirections.

The coupling unit 104 for interconnecting the chain drive assembly 87 tothe carriage assembly 20 consists of a V-frame 106 and a chain link unit108. The V-frame 106 has two diverging arm members 1 10, 112 which arejoined together at one end by a rivet secured to rectangular plate 113.The rectangular plate 113 is also secured to pin 114 (FIG. 9) whoselower end is secured to the chain link unit 108. The outer ends of thearms 110, 112 are connected by means of brackets 115, 116, respectively,to the opposite comers of the right hand end of carrier frame 74. Thebrackets 115, 116 are secured to the frame 74 by welding or some othersuitable means and are fastened to the frame arms 110, 112 by means of anut and bolt arrangement or equivalent type fasteners. The chaincoupling unit 108 receives the ends of the chain 102 in a bore fonnedthrough the length of block 118 and secures the opposite ends of thechain 102 to the block 118 by means of screws 120.

Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown an actuating member 122 carried bychain 102 which actuates an electrical contact switch 124 when thecarrier frame 74 returns from the press and rebanding station 13 andarrives at its starting position (at the right end). The hydraulic andelectrical control circuitry for performing this function will beexplained hereinafter.

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, when the carriage assembly 20 arrives atthe press and rebanding station 13, the cotton bale C trips anelectrical contact switch 132 extending downwardly from the bracket 134which simultaneously deenergizes hydraulic motor 89 to stop the forwardmovement of carriage assembly 20 and energizes the hydraulic and pistonunits 60, 62 in such a manner that the respective piston rods 64, 65 arewithdrawn into the cylinder to urge the fork members 14, 16 to spreadapart. The upper fork member 14, however, is restrained from movingupwardly due to the engagement with the bracket 134, for the reason thatthe upper platen 126 is a stationary member in the press P. Also,simultaneously with the energization of cylinder and piston units 60 and62, the extractor drive assembly 22 is energized to eject the cottonbale C away from the press unit 12 and into the press P between theupper and lower platen members 126, 128.

As best illustrated in FIG. 5, power is provided for the extractorassembly 22 by a hydraulic motor 130 which has a worm 131 mounted on itsoutput shaft that drives spur gears 135, 136. The spur gears 135, 136cooperate, respectively, with tooth rack members 138, 140. The toothrack members 138 and 140 are slidingly mounted beneath cross bar 23 ofvertical frame 30 by means of two linear bearing members 142 and 144(FIG. 4) which are mounted to the cross bar 23 by means of therespective brackets 146, 148. The outer ends of rack members 138, 140are secured to vertical extractor frame by means ofbrackets 152, 154(FIG. 5).

The vertical extractor frame 150 consists of a plurality of elongatedvertical U-shaped bars 156 which are held together in a parallel spacedapart relationship by upper and lower horizontal cross bars 158, 160. Ascan be seen in FIG. 4, the upper horizontal cross bar 156 extendsoutside the limits of vertical legs 33 of frame member 30 and has acylindrical guide rod 162 secured in a perpendicular relationship to itsleft end. The lower horizontal cross bar 160 similarly extends beyondthe other vertical leg 31 of frame member 30 and has a guide rod 164secured in a perpendicular relationship to right outer end. The U-shapedbars 156 are spaced apart a distance equal to the distance separatingthe bands B of a cotton bale C and their width is slightly larger thanthe width of the bands B to permit the ready removal of the bands Bafter the cotton bale C has been compressed by the upper and lower forkmembers 14, 16.

Guide rods 162, 164 are slidingly mounted in brackets 166, 168,respectively, which extend outwardly from legs 33 and 31 of verticalframe member 30 and function to prevent the extractor frame 150 fromturning or twisting as it is moved forward to eject a cotton bale C. InFIG. 10, there is an illustration of the extractor assembly 22 with theguide rods 162 and 164 in their fully extended POSIIIOI'.

When the extractor assembly 22 has returned to the withdrawn position ofFIG. 3, electrical switch 170, which is carried by vertical frame member24, is depressed to energize the chain drive assembly 84 in the reversedirection and to move the carriage assembly away from the press andrebanding station 13. Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, as the upper forkmember 14 clears the end of bracket 134 two identical spring members 172(one of which is shown in FIG. 10) connected between the angle braces38, 40 and the respective rearward ends of arm portions 26 and 28 ofupper fork member 14, exert a pull on the upper and the lower forkmembers l4 and 16 to pivot them in a clockwise direction and cause therespective cotton bale engaging units 42 and 58 to raise. The purpose ofusing the springs 172 is to insure that the lower fork member 16 will beabove the level of the track 84 when the turntable 36 swingscounterclockwise across the track 94 to return the press unit 12 to theunbanding station 18.

By having the fork members 14 and 16 return to the unbanding station 18in the open position, they can swing about a cotton bale C alreadypositioned at unbanding station 18 by a suitable conveyor means such asa fork-lift truck. When the press unit 12 is swung counterclockwisethrough a 90 angle, electrical switch 174 on post 71 (FIG. 1) isactuated by vertical frame member to simultaneously deenergizes thehydraulic motor 78 of turret assembly 72 and energizes hydrauliccylinder and piston units 60, 62 to cause the upper and lower forkmembers l4, 16 to close and apply a compression force on the cotton baleC. After the piston rod 66 of hydraulic unit 60 has moved apredetermined distance, electrical switch 174 (FIG. 2) is actuated byactuating lever 177 on hydraulic unit 60 to remove the fluid supplied tothe hydraulic unit 60, 62. At this point, the complete automatic cycleof the cotton bale transfer apparatus 10 is completed and the operatorremoves the bands B from the bale C before depressing the start button70 to initiate a new cycle.

There is illustrated in FIG. 13, a schematic diagram of the hydrauliccircuit for the cotton bale transfer apparatus 10. All the hydrauliccomponents shown in FIG. 13 are commercially available hydrauliccomponents. A spool valve 200 is used for controlling the opening andclosing of the piston and hydraulic unit 60, 62 which cooperates to openand close the fork members 14, 16. When the electrical Open solenoid 202is energized the spool valve 200 is moved to the right to direct thefluid through the hydraulic piston and control unit 60, 62 in such amanner that their respective pistons 66, 68 are drawn inwardly to openthe fork members 14, 16. When the close solenoid 204 is energized, thespool valve 200 is forced to the left which reverses the direction offluid through the piston and hydraulic units 60, 62 so that theirrespective pistons 66, 68 are pushed outwardly and close the forkmembers 14, 16.

The three hydraulic motors 78, 88 and 130 also use spool valves tocontrol the direction of rotation of their output shafts. Each of thesespool valves are similarly operated by electrical solenoids to permitthe fluid to flow through the hydraulic motors in one of two directions,and thereby control the direction of their output shafts rotation. WhenClockwise solenoid 206 is energized, it moves spool valve 208 to theright to cause the hydraulic motor 78 to rotate the turntable 36 in aclockwise direction. Likewise, when the counterclockwise solenoid 210 isenergized, it moves the spool valve 208 in the opposite direction toreverse the direction of fluid through the hydraulic motor 38 andthereby reverse the direction of its output shaft with the result theturntable 36 rotates in a counterclockwise direction. Hydraulic motors88 and 130 have, respectively, spool valves 212 and 214 which areidentical to spool valve 208 and which are operated selectively byeither forward solenoids 216 and 218 or reverse solenoids 220 and 222 inthe same manner as spool valve 208.

Pressure relieve valves 224, 226 and 228 are provided with hydraulicmotor 78, 88 and 130, respectively, for protection purposes and operatein a conventional manner. Similarly, hydraulic and piston units 60, 62are protected by pressure relieve valve 230. Hydraulic motors 78, 88 and130 use regulators 232, 234, and 236 for regulating the hydraulic fluidreturning to the sump in accordance with conventional practice.

The hydraulic circuit for the cotton bale transfer apparatus 10 alsoincludes a pump 228, pump-motor 230 and tank with filter) 232 which aremounted on the rearward end of turntable 36. For protection purposes, apressure relief circuit 234 is connected in parallel with the pump 228,and a filte 236 is provided for filtering the fluid returning to thetank 232.

The electrical control diagram schematically illustrated in FIG. 14 forthe cotton bale transfer apparatus 10 will now be explained. Thesolenoids which control the operation of the various hydraulic devidesof FIG. 13 are energized when an electrical contact switch is actuated.These electrical contact switches, except for the start switch 70, aresequentially operated by the moving parts of the cotton bale transferapparatus 10 to cause the cotton bale transfer apparatus to perform aseries of sequential operations. The electrical contact switches andsolenoids shown in FIG. 14 are connected across a l20-volt AC line 250,252 when the ON-OFF switch 254 is closed.

As previously mentioned, after the bands B have been removed from thecotton bale C which is compressed between the upper and lower forkmembers l4, 16 of press unit 12, the cotton bale transfer device 10 isprepared to start the complete automatic cycle. The cycle is startedwhen the operator depresses the start switch 70, which completes thecircuit between contact 70a and 70b and between contacts 70c and 70d.With the closing of the circuit between 70a and 70b, the clockwisesolenoid 206 is energized and moves the spool valve 208 to the rightwith the result the hydraulic motor 78 drives the platform 36 in aclockwise direction.

The closing of contacts 70c-70d energizes hold coil 208, connectedacross contacts 700 and 70d, to hold the switch 70 in the closedposition until the turntable 36 has rotated through a angle andturntable 36 momentarily actuates contact switch 85 to open contacts 85a85b. Upon the deenergization of holding coil 208, start switch 70returns to the normally open position causing the contacts 70a-70b toopen and deenergizing solenoid 20b to terminate the rotation ofhydraulic motor 78 with the actuation of electrical switch 85, contacts85c85d are closed to provide a current path to the Forward solenoid 216of the chain drive assembly 84 which operates spool valve 212 to causethe fluid to flow through the hydraulic motor 88 such that the chaindrive assembly 84 moves the carriage assembly 20 in the forwarddirection.

Because switch contact 85 is only momentarily closed by frame member 30,a holding coil 260, which is energized by the closing of contacts85e-85f, holds switch 85 closed until the circuit across contactsl32e-132f is broken by the actuation of switch 132. When the press unit12 reaches the press and rebanding station 13, the cotton bale C strikeselectrical switch 132 hanging from bracket 134, causing the normallyclosed circuit across 132e-132f to open and deenergize holding coil 260.Deenergization of coil 260 causes the opening of switch contacts 85c85dto deenergize Forward solenoid 216 and stops the forward movement ofcarriage assembly 20.

In addition to deenergizing the Forward solenoid 216, the closing ofswitch 132 simultaneously performs two other operadons. Switch contactsl32a-132b close to complete the circuit to the Forward solenoid 218 toenergize hydraulic motor and cause the extractor assembly 22 to ejectthe cotton bale C away from the press unit 12. Simultaneously switchcontacts l32gl32h are closed to energize the Open solenoid 202 andthereby cause the piston and hydraulic unit 60-62 to spread apart thefork members 14-16.

The ejection of cotton bale C pennits switch 132 to return to itsnormally open position wherein switch contacts l32c-l32d are closed toenergize the Reverse solenoid 222 causing the hydraulic motor 130 toreverse its direction and retract the extractor assembly 22. Upon returnof the extractor assembly to its retracted pot?! in, switch contact isdepressed, opening contacts 170c-170d and closing contacts 170al70b. Theopening of contacts 170c 170d deenergizes the reversing solenoid 222.

The closing of the switch contacts 170a-170b completes the circuit tothe Reversing solenoid 217 of chain drive assembly 84 which energizesthe hydraulic motor 88 in the reverse direction and moves the carriageassembly 22 in a rearward direction. The movement of the chain driveassembly 20 stops when the actuating arm 122 carried by chain 102contacts the switch 124 to open contacts 12411-12412. Upon the closingof switch 124, a circuit is completed across switch contacts 124c-124dto provide a current path to counterclockwise solenoid 210, resulting inthe energization of hydraulic motor 78 which drives the turntable 36 inthe counterclockwise direction A holding coil 262 is provided to holdthe switch 124 in the closed position until the frame member 30 of thepress unit 12 strikes the electrical contact switch 174 on post 71 atunbanding station 18, to open the circuit 174e 174]" and deenergizeholding coil 262.

The closing of switch 174 completes a circuit through the normally opencontacts l74c-l74d to energize the close solenoid 204 which operatesspool valve 200 to direct fluid into the piston and hydraulic units 60,62 in such a direction that the fork members 14-16 are drawn towardseach other and compress a bale of cotton C disposed therebetween. Whenthe piston 66 and 68 of the hydraulic unit 60, 62 have moved apredetermined distance to apply a desired compression force on the endsof the cotton bale C, the electrical switch 176 mounted on the hydrauliccontrol unit 60 is actuated opening the contacts l76a-l76b to therebydeenergize the close solenoid 204. Upon the completion of thislast-mentioned operation, the cotton bale transfer apparatus hascompleted a complete cycle.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for transporting a bale of cotton from an unbandingstation to a press and rebanding station comprising a press unit havinga pair of spaced-apart fork members, carriage means for carrying saidpress unit between said unbanding station and said press and rebandingstation, first power means for driving said carriage means between saidtwo stations, at second power means for moving said fork members towardsand away from each other, a first actuating means energizing said secondpower means when said press unit is at said unbanding station to causesaid fork members to move towards each other and apply a predeterminedcompression force to the opposite ends of a cotton bale disposedtherebetween, a second actuating means energizing said first power meansin a forward direction to drive said carriage means such that said pressunit moves from said unbanding station to said press and rebandingstation, a third actuating means for energizing said second power meanswhen said press unit arrives at said press and rebanding station tocause said fork members to move away from each other and unload thecotton bale, and a fourth actuating means energizing said first powermeans in a reverse direction upon the release of the cotton bale todrive said carriage means such that said press unit returns to saidunbanding station, said carriage means includes a turret means to swingsaid fork members between a bale loading orientation and a baleunloading orientation, a third power means to rotate said turret meansbetween said bale loading and bale unloading orientations, a fifthactuating means energizing said third power means to rotate said turretmeans from the bale loading orientation when said press unit is at saidunbanding station and a bale of cotton is held between said forkmembers, and a sixth actuating means rotating said turret means in anopposite direction upon said carriage means returning to said unbandingstation to move said press unit back to said bale loading orientation.

2. An apparatus for transporting a bale of cotton from an unbandingstation to a press and rebanding station comprising a press unit havinga pair of spaced-apart fork members, carriage means for carrying saidpress unit between said unbanding station and said press and rebandingstation, first power means for driving said carriage means between saidtwo stations, a second power means for moving said fork members towardsand away from each other, a first actuating means energizing said secondpower means when said press unit is at said unbanding station to causesaid fork members to move towards each other and apply a predeterminedcompression force to the opposite ends of a cotton bale disposedtherebetween, a second actuating means energizing said first power meansin a forward direction to drive said carriage means such that said pressunit moves from said unbanding station to said press and rebandingstation, a third actuating means for energizing said second power meanswhen said press unit arrives at said press and rebanding station tocause said fork members to move away from each other and unload thecotton bale, and a fourth actuating means energizing said first powermeans in a reverse direction upon the release of the cotton bale todrive said carriage means such that said press unit returns to saidunbanding station, an extractor means for ejecting the cotton bale frombetween said fork members when said press unit arrives at said press andrebanding station, and a third power means for moving said extractormeans, where said third actuating means energizes said third power meanssimultaneously with said second power means when said press unit arrivesat said press and rebanding station.

3. An apparatus for transporting a bale of cotton from an unbandingstation to a press and rebanding station comprising a press unit havinga pair of spaced-apart upper and lower fork members, carriage means forcarrying said press unit between said two stations, and a first powermeans for moving said upper and lower fork members towards each other tocompress a bale of cotton disposed therebetween when said carriage meansis at said unbanding station and for moving said upper and lower forkmembers away from each other when said carriage means is at said pressand rebanding station to unload said bale of cotton, said carriage meanscomprising a carrier frame and a turntable rotatably mounted on saidcarrier frame, said press unit being mounted on said turntable, trackmeans for guiding said carrier frame between said two stations, and asecond power means for rotating said turntable to move said fork membersto a loading orientation when said carriage means is at said unbandingstation and to move said fork members to an unloading orientation whensaid carriage means is at said press and rebanding station.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said press unit comprisesa vertical frame member mounted along one edge of said turntable, saidupper and lower fork members pivotally carried by said vertical framemember and having at their forward ends, respectively, upper and lowercotton bale engaging units, and said first power means pivotallyinterconnecting the rearward ends of said fork members to selectivelymove said upper and lower cotton bale engaging members towards and awayfrom each other.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein each of said upper andlower cotton bale engaging members comprise a plurality of pressureblades spaced apart a distance equal to the bands on a cotton bale andbeing adapted to individually pivot a limited amount to conform to theuneven contour at the opposite ends of a cotton bale.

6. An apparatus as defined in claim 5, further comprising an ejectorassembly mounted on said vertical frame member for ejecting the cottonbale into a press at said press and rebanding station.

7. An apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein said ejector assemblyincludes a plurality of U-shaped elongated parallel bars spaced apart adistance equal to the separation between cotton bale bands and eachhaving a width greater than the Width of the bands on a cotton bale, avertical frame structure supporting said U-shaped bars, a pair of toothrack members secured perpendicularly to said vertical frame structure, apair of interrneshing spur gears mounted on said vertical frame memberof said press unit and cooperating with said rack members to move saidvertical f ne structure towards and away from said vertical framemember, a third power means for driving said pair of inter-meshing spurgears, and bearing means carried by said vertical frame member forslidingly supporting said pair of tooth rack members.

8. An apparatus for transporting a bale of cotton from an unbandingstation to a press and rebanding station comprising a press unit havinga pair of spaced-apart fork members, carriage means for carrying saidpress unit between said unbanding station and said press and rebandingstation, said carriage means including turret means to swing said forkmembers between a bale loading orientation and a bale unloadingorientation, a first power means for rotating said turret means betweensaid bale loading and unloading orientations and for moving said pressunit between said bale unloading orientation and said press andrebanding station, a second power means for moving said fork memberstowards and away from each other, a first actuating means energizingsaid second power means when said press unit is at said unbandingstation to cause said fork members to move towards each other and applya predetermined compression force to the opposite ends of a cotton baledisposed therebetween, a second actuating means energizing said firstpower means in a forward direction to rotate said turret means such thatsaid press unit turns from said bale loading orientation to said baleunloading orientation and to said press and rebanding station, a thirdactuating means for energizing Said second power means when said pressunit arrives at said press and rebanding station to cause said forkmembers to move away from each other and unload the cotton bale, and afourth actuating means energizing said first power means in a reversedirection upon the release of the cotton bale to drive said carriagemeans such that said press unit returns to said unbanding station andsaid bale loading orientation.

1. An apparatus for transporting a bale of cotton from an unbandingstation to a press and rebanding station comprising a press unit havinga pair of spaced-apart fork members, carriage means for carrying saidpress unit between said unbanding station and said press and rebandingstation, first power means for driving said carriage means between saidtwo stations, a second power means for moving said fork members towardsand away from each other, a first actuating means energizing said secondpower means when said press unit is at said unbanding station to causesaid fork members to move towards each other and apply a predeterminedcompression force to the opposite ends of a cotton bale disposedtherebetween, a second actuating means energizing said first power meansin a forward direction to drive said carriage means such that said pressunit moves from said unbanding station to said press and rebandingstation, a third actuating means for energizing said second power meanswhen said press unit arrives at said press and rebanding station tocause said fork members to move away from each other and unload thecotton bale, and a fourth actuating means energizing said first powermeans in a reverse direction upon the release of the cotton bale todrive said carriage means such that said press unit returns to saidunbanding station, said carriage means includes a turret means to swingsaid fork members between a bale loading orientation and a baleunloading orientation, a third power means to rotate said turret meansbetween said bale loading and bale unloading orientations, a fifthactuating means energizing said third power means to rotate said turretmeans from the bale loading orientation when said press unit is at saidunbanding station and a bale of cotton is held between said forkmembers, and a sixth actuating means rotating said turret means in anopposite direction upon said carriage means returning to said unbandingstation to move said press unit back to said bale loading orientation.2. An apparatus for transporting a bale of cotton from an unbandingstation to a press and rebanding station comprising a press unit havinga pair of spaced-apart fork members, carriage means for carrying saidpress unit between said unbanding station and said press and rebandingstation, first power means for driving said carriage means between saidtwo stations, a second power means for moving said fork members towardsand away from each other, a first actuating means energizing said secondpower means when said press unit is at said unbanding station to causesaid fork members to move towards each other and apply a predeterminedcompression force to the opposite ends of a cotton bale disposedtherebetween, a second actuating means energizing said first power meansin a forward direction to drive said carriage means such that said pressunit moves from said unbanding station to said press and rebandingstation, a third actuating means for energizing said second power meanswhen said press unit arrives at said press and rebanding station tocause said fork members to move away from each other and unload thecotton bale, and a fourth actuating means energizing said first powermeans in a reverse direction upon the release of the cotton bale todrive said carriage means such tHat said press unit returns to saidunbanding station, an extractor means for ejecting the cotton bale frombetween said fork members when said press unit arrives at said press andrebanding station, and a third power means for moving said extractormeans, where said third actuating means energizes said third power meanssimultaneously with said second power means when said press unit arrivesat said press and rebanding station.
 3. An apparatus for transporting abale of cotton from an unbanding station to a press and rebandingstation comprising a press unit having a pair of spaced-apart upper andlower fork members, carriage means for carrying said press unit betweensaid two stations, and a first power means for moving said upper andlower fork members towards each other to compress a bale of cottondisposed therebetween when said carriage means is at said unbandingstation and for moving said upper and lower fork members away from eachother when said carriage means is at said press and rebanding station tounload said bale of cotton, said carriage means comprising a carrierframe and a turntable rotatably mounted on said carrier frame, saidpress unit being mounted on said turntable, track means for guiding saidcarrier frame between said two stations, and a second power means forrotating said turntable to move said fork members to a loadingorientation when said carriage means is at said unbanding station and tomove said fork members to an unloading orientation when said carriagemeans is at said press and rebanding station.
 4. An apparatus as definedin claim 3, wherein said press unit comprises a vertical frame membermounted along one edge of said turntable, said upper and lower forkmembers pivotally carried by said vertical frame member and having attheir forward ends, respectively, upper and lower cotton bale engagingunits, and said first power means pivotally interconnecting the rearwardends of said fork members to selectively move said upper and lowercotton bale engaging members towards and away from each other.
 5. Anapparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein each of said upper and lowercotton bale engaging members comprise a plurality of pressure bladesspaced apart a distance equal to the bands on a cotton bale and beingadapted to individually pivot a limited amount to conform to the unevencontour at the opposite ends of a cotton bale.
 6. An apparatus asdefined in claim 5, further comprising an ejector assembly mounted onsaid vertical frame member for ejecting the cotton bale into a press atsaid press and rebanding station.
 7. An apparatus as defined in claim 6,wherein said ejector assembly includes a plurality of U-shaped elongatedparallel bars spaced apart a distance equal to the separation betweencotton bale bands and each having a width greater than the width of thebands on a cotton bale, a vertical frame structure supporting saidU-shaped bars, a pair of tooth rack members secured perpendicularly tosaid vertical frame structure, a pair of intermeshing spur gears mountedon said vertical frame member of said press unit and cooperating withsaid rack members to move said vertical frame structure towards and awayfrom said vertical frame member, a third power means for driving saidpair of intermeshing spur gears, and bearing means carried by saidvertical frame member for slidingly supporting said pair of tooth rackmembers.
 8. An apparatus for transporting a bale of cotton from anunbanding station to a press and rebanding station comprising a pressunit having a pair of spaced-apart fork members, carriage means forcarrying said press unit between said unbanding station and said pressand rebanding station, said carriage means including turret means toswing said fork members between a bale loading orientation and a baleunloading orientation, a first power means for rotating said turretmeans between said bale loading and unloading orientations and formoving said press unit between said bale unloading orienTation and saidpress and rebanding station, a second power means for moving said forkmembers towards and away from each other, a first actuating meansenergizing said second power means when said press unit is at saidunbanding station to cause said fork members to move towards each otherand apply a predetermined compression force to the opposite ends of acotton bale disposed therebetween, a second actuating means energizingsaid first power means in a forward direction to rotate said turretmeans such that said press unit turns from said bale loading orientationto said bale unloading orientation and to said press and rebandingstation, a third actuating means for energizing said second power meanswhen said press unit arrives at said press and rebanding station tocause said fork members to move away from each other and unload thecotton bale, and a fourth actuating means energizing said first powermeans in a reverse direction upon the release of the cotton bale todrive said carriage means such that said press unit returns to saidunbanding station and said bale loading orientation.